Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Hamels Headache

The Phillies suffered a migraine-sized Hamels headache today as Cole was unable to regain his 2008 form.In only 3 2/3 innings, Hamels allowed 7 runs on 11 hits and a walk; not a very MVP-like performance.Hamels left pitches up in the zone and his fastball topped out at about 87mph.The Rockies hitters took advantage.JA Happ came into the came to finish off the 4th inning and eventually pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit.This was a nice outing for the young pitcher who is trying to solidify his spot in the bullpen.

More bad news for the Phillies came in the 6th inning when catcher Carlos Ruiz was lifted from the game with a right oblique strain.This is a tricky, and usually very painful type of injury, so it will be a wait-and-see situation to find out if Ruiz will be alright.Oh, my aching head!Please pass the Tylenol…

One bright spot on the day was Jayson Werth, who went 4 for 4 with a home run, 2 doubles and 3 runs scored.Not so bright was Ryan Howard who hit into THREE double plays in the game, killing any chance the Phillies had at a rally.Also giving Phillies fans a tummy ache to go along with the headache was Raul Ibanez, who not only went 0 for 4 in the game, but his fumblings and stumblings in left field made ex-Phillie Pat Burrell’s fielding look graceful.

Chad Durbin nailed down the win for the Rockies when he came in to pitch the 8th inning and gave up 3 more runs, making it a 10-2 game.Durbin’s last outing was very sloppy as well; I am hoping he is just a slow starter and not carrying over his troubles from late in 2008.Maybe the team should have handed out more rings tonight?1 win in 4 games, with that win coming after receiving their World Series Rings, makes it seem like they need some higher incentive to play.Then again, the Phillies usually suck in April so, welcome to just another season of Phillies baseball!The saga continues at 8:10pm tomorrow…

Ugh! I only got to watch the game in bits and pieces, and it’s probably just as well. I did get to see Ibanez horribly misplay that ball into a triple. I just recently read, and I can’t remember where, that Ibanez is statistically a step down from Burrell fielding-wise, and after watching that I’m inclined to agree.
SueRants, Raves, and Random Thoughts

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